Homeworkers urged to ‘fight’ for support grant


Samantha Mayling


Greater Manchester homeworker Sue Welsh has succeeded in obtaining a grant from her local council after lobbying her MP. Trafford Council confirmed she


qualifies for a payment of £2,000 under the Additional Restrictions (Discretionary) Grant scheme. Welsh, owner of Ace Travel 2,


a member of The Travel Network Group, was one of the agents who was a victim of the “postcode lottery” of grant eligibility that Abta highlighted before Christmas. She did not qualify for other


government financial support as she is not self-employed and was not able to be furloughed. Welsh had taken her case to


her local MP Kate Green, who held a Zoom surgery last month to hear about problems that travel professionals were facing during the pandemic. Welsh raised the situation of the homeworking sector, which she said had slipped through the “cracks in support”. After writing to government


ministers to highlight “severe financial pressures” faced by agents, Green alerted Welsh to Trafford


Homeworker Sue Welsh


It was not about the


money, really, it was the principle; some people were falling through the cracks


Council’s extension of its Additional Restrictions (Discretionary) Grant scheme to include home-based businesses. Welsh, who has spent the last 15


years of her 33-year career in travel working from home, said: “It was not about the money, really, it was the


principle; some people were falling through the cracks in the system. “Some councils had different


policies so some people got payments and others did not. “I would tell others in the trade, in


a similar position, to fight and fight if you think you are right.” She expects to use the grant to


help market her business to capitalise on the reopening of leisure travel and may plan an event for when restrictions are relaxed. Welsh said most of her enquiries


have been for 2022 but she recently made a £20,000 booking for a Barbados holiday next Christmas.


Hotelplan and Crystal Ski cancel rest of winter


Inghams, Flexiski and Ski Total parent Hotelplan UK has cancelled its remaining ski trips for this winter season. Customers with April bookings can request a refund or rebook. Chief executive Joe Ponte said the firm was “very disappointed” but reported “strong numbers for next winter”. Tui-owned Crystal Ski also cancelled its current winter season but reported future demand.


Abta defends stance on CMV commission


Abta has defended its policy of not refunding agent commission on Cruise & Maritime Voyages bookings cancelled due to Covid prior to the line’s failure last summer. To reimburse clients fully, agents must find the funds to pay back the commission. The association is, however, fully covering bookings that were cancelled as a result of CMV’s failure in July 2020.


Oasis Overland ceases trading amid pandemic


The directors of Oasis Overland say they are “devastated” after the specialist tour operator ceased trading last week due to the pandemic. The small-group specialist, established in 1998, offered expeditions in Africa, South America and Central Asia among its range, and was a member of Aito – The Specialist Travel Association. It will be placed into liquidation.


‘Human agents are great’: Holmes and Calder champion trade on TV


TV presenters Eamonn Holmes and Simon Calder championed the benefits of booking with ‘human’ travel agents on ITV’s This Morning last week. Travel expert Calder said “big shout out to real


human travel agents” as he urged people worried about booking to “talk to somebody”. Holmes, who has previously spoken about the


benefits of booking with agents, commented: “We have all got used to doing it ourselves: booking our


8 25 FEBRUARY 2021


flight, booking our hotel, booking our car hire. “If it’s me, I am thinking ‘let’s take the hassle out


of all of this, go to an expert, go to a travel agent’ and if there are any problems, they will deal with all the refunds as opposed to me spending seven hours getting on to an airline trying to get a refund.” Calder agreed, saying: “I have always used travel


agents for anything where I want reassurance. They are great, real professionals.”


travelweekly.co.uk


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